Asa
by Elizabeth Diana
Summary: 'Perfection' Iwaizumi Hajime seems to think as he lands upon the grey cement and squints at the bright lights. He orders from a menu he cannot read and a language he cannot speak. In which Iwaizumi Hajime moves to Japan for a job offer without any knowledge on the language and meets his neighbor, Oikawa Tooru who can barely understand English. How hard can a language barrier be?
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Oikawa speaks in Japanese even if it is written in English most of the time unless stated or sometimes, it's in the context. Because I personally think writing Japanese in an English story doesn't really go well together. Taken from my Ao3 acc.

Enjoy! :D

* * *

The ground underneath his grey sneakers feels slippery and the sun is oddly warm. Dust flies out with each step creating a faint crunching sound. His eyes scan the surroundings, glass doors framed in white are open, waiting for him to enter and before he could even comprehend anything, he's left his home.

The airport is in its usual white colour. A sign written in English and Japanese welcomes him against a blue background. He moves forward, passing by the customs to answer the questionnaire and to go to another counter for a passport check. Soon, he gets to claim his belongings. He undergoes custom inspections once again and finally arrives at the lobby.

He finally exits the airport, calling for a cab. After pleasantries are exchanged, he pulls his heavy suitcase and gains help from the driver to lift it up and store behind. He wants to thank him but is afraid he might stumble over his words and mess up so he keeps his mouth shut, only opening it to inform him on his destination.

The trip was silent, and he absentmindedly toys with the blue keychain on his backpack, reading all the information he knew too well.

Name: Iwaizumi Hajime

Adress: Quezon City

Number: 0917-XX-XXX−X

It all happened too fast. Once upon a time he was living with his parents back in the Philippines, his grandparents were immigrants too so he didn't have a chance to learn Japanese. Despite his circumstances, his grandmother had offered him a place to work at and stay in Tokyo assuring him that all his co-workers knew how to speak English. His mother was very enthusiastic at the idea and quickly helped him arrange all the needed documents. Now there he was, riding a cab to his apartment, without a word to say.

The cab pulled over after twenty minutes or so, announcing that they have arrived. Quickly, he paid and exited, taking his luggage.

After the cab left, Iwaizumi turned to face the apartment. It wasn't too bad, the walls of the building was newly painted and potted plants surrounded the outdoors. The environment was peaceful too, as he saw a row of small houses along the way. With a deep breath, he opens the door and steps inside.

His place wasn't hard to locate, placed right in front of the second set of stairs was a plain white door with the number 26 carved in the middle and if he was going to be honest, it was disappointing. From the looks of it, there was only one floor and it wasn't even large but why complain? He only lived by himself after all.

Before he unlocked the door, he took out his phone to text his parents that he had arrived safely; something he forgot to do the moment his flight landed. He was about to send a quick text when he heard a voice greet him.

"Hello, nice to meet you. My name's Oikawa Tooru."

Iwaizumi looked up at the man who had fair skin, wavy brown hair and eyes that matched. The man had a smile on his face and looked a bit expectant.

His eyes widened.

Iwaizumi suddenly felt nervous. He studied simple greetings and basic replies in Japanese, he also did a bit of research on their culture but in that very moment, he doubted every single piece of information he had gotten from both the books and internet. So many 'what ifs' and worst-case scenarios ran through his mind as he struggled to say the simple hello.

"Ko..nnichiwa..?" He manages, voice in an unsure tone as he raises his eyebrows silently praying that he was correct. "Iwaizumi Hajime.." He says his name without bothering to add anything, hoping Oikawa would get the message.

Oikawa smiles and soon breaks into laughter, his light voice filling the air and pink starts to color his cheeks. He stops as soon as he notices Iwaizumi's mortified look and puts a hand on his shoulder. "Ah no, I'm not making fun of you, it's just that.. I've never met anyone as shy as you and well.. I know I have good looks but you don't have to be shy!"

Iwaizumi could only stare at him as he rambles on with a language he is not familiar with. His skin feels hot and his head feels empty, whether this man was making fun of him or not he would never know. In order to try and save himself he decides to ask. "English?"

The man stops talking, his eyebrows raised at the question. He scratches his head and smiles. "English? I.. know little."

Well shit. "I don't speak Japanese, I'm sorry."

Oikawa nods, understanding. "Gomenasai!"

From what he remembered, it meant something like an apology so he gives him a reassuring look. "It's okay."

"Tomorrow!" Oikawa exclaims, his accent audible as he opens the door to his room and closes the door quickly leaving the other confused.

Though he can't help but feel the surge of excitement rush through his veins as he waits for the next day to come.


	2. Chapter 2

The room was brightly lit, sunlight covering the plain white walls while the light bulb remained on since yesterday. Hands grasped the plain mint sheets, a groan following. Slowly, he opened his eyes squinting at the brightness that slipped through his eyes. He rolled to the other side in hopes to fall back asleep until he felt the cool air that clung to his skin, jolting him awake.

He sat up on the bed scanning his surroundings. The place lacked colour but it was fully furnished. A wardrobe and bedside table was set in his bedroom. There was a wall that divided the rooms, he figured using _Shōji_ doors would have been nice, but it would look extremely out of place considering he didn't have a traditional home. It had a small kitchen, a living room with two brown sofas and a television. Lastly, there was the bathroom that was placed near the kitchen.

Everything was clean and tidy but somehow, it made him feel uneasy. Instead of souvenirs that littered the top of his wardrobe, he got a freshly painted flat piece of wood. What's worse was the fact that there weren't any food in the refrigerator. This was his second day in Japan and he felt as if he was in a hotel. Clean, devoid of any decor and despite not having any cooling devices, the cold air of the early December stuck to his skin. But perhaps, this was just the feeling of overwhelming unfamiliarity.

He then got up and headed to the bathroom to brush his teeth and take a shower.

Right after finishing, he went to put on some clothes when his cellphone rang. Quickly putting on his underwear and a shirt, he checked to see who was calling. It was his mother. A small smile tugged on his lips as he answered it.

 _Unfortunately, the smile didn't last long._

"Kuya! Are you there yet? Is it cold there? What time is it?" The voice of a young boy barraged him with questions. It didn't help that it was on loudspeaker too, he almost threw the phone across the wall.

"Kaito? Japan is literally only one hour earlier than the Philippines." He said calmly to his ten year old cousin. "Anyway, where's mom? I thought she was the one calling."

After hearing an argument between his cousin and his mother, he heard his mother on the phone. "I'm here Hajime." Her voice was soothing. "How are you? Is the apartment your grandmother got you alright?"

He looked around the room. There really wasn't much to say about it, even the famous volleyball player Ushijima Wakatoshi's voice had more emotion than his room, honestly. But he can't be picky now, can he? "It's fine. I just have to do the groceries."

"Oh, you're already a grown man!" His mother cried, exaggeration layering her voice.

"You told me that when I was twelve."

"Shut your mouth young man!" She scolded. "Now excuse me, I still have to do the laundry. Take care!" Her voice reverted back to the usual calm voice.

Iwaizumi felt perplexed.

* * *

Hours had passed since his awkward trip to the grocery consisting of the excessive use of his phone's calculator and trying to make the most of the English phrases written on the labels.

It was currently 1 am and Iwaizumi, wrapped in several layers of clothes trying to arrange all his documents including his personal and school information with already numb hands. The cold was so much more different than back in his country. Back there, it felt like swimming in the sea late in the night and getting out immediately, feeling the wind. It felt sharp. Here, the breeze would wrap around him and stay.

He looked at his phone one more time, checking the schedule he had for work next week. His boss, Sugawara Koushi from the call center he would soon work at had contacted him earlier, telling him about his requirements and schedule. He spoke in a gentle but firm manner which oddly reminded him of his mother. _Maybe that's what made him the boss._ He thought. Just as he was about to reach for the papers once more, he heard a knock at his door.

He stopped his movements at once, deciding whether he should open the door or not. It was an awfully unusual time for someone to visit. He didn't know anyone else to begin with! His neighbour and boss was an exception, but it was very unlikely.

Another knock.

He decided to answer. If he wasn't lucky, he could just punch him or throw something, not that there was much that he could lift up anyway. He walked toward the door, holding the knob for a few seconds until he slowly twisted it.

Bright brown eyes and a big smile greeted him. He was wearing a thick coat with a pale blue scarf wrapped around him. Both his hands were at his back, hiding something.

"O-Oikawa?"

"Iwa-chan!" He greeted, only earning a confused expression.

"Do you need anything?"

Oikawa's eyes widened as he started fidgeting. "Would you.. Would.. Tokyo.." he mumbled in Japanese, trying to remember the phrase he had _tried_ to memorize. Realizing that he was failing, he checked his phone that was held behind him. On the screen was a translation website. "Tokyo.. around!" He finally managed to say in English.

"What?"

He felt nervous. "Tokyo trip?" He tried, hoping his poor English skills would somehow save him.

Iwaizumi just stared at him for about a minute. "I'm really sorry, I don-"

He was cut off by Oikawa grabbing his hand and dragging him out of the building.

Once he had let go, a poster was shoved to his face. Iwaizumi took the piece of paper and tried to make sense of it. He found some English text written at the bottom informing him that there was a festival. He frowned. _What kind of festival happens at 1 am?_ He looked back to Oikawa who had a smirk on his face, his neighbour tried to grab his hand once more but Iwaizumi refused to move.

"Come on!" Oikawa tried to pull, but he just wouldn't budge. He huffed. Well that was his second failure for the day, the first being his language skills.

"Tell me what this is about first."

His hand scratched the back of his head followed by nervous laughter. Oikawa was a man who knew and understood people well so he could act appropriately in front of the person, many had acknowledged this. But even he can't understand himself when he was in front of Iwaizumi. Desperate to give a reply, he started to ramble. " Well uh.. you see, I was outside yesterday and I saw the poster and I told my friends but they told me to go get a love life and find someone to go on a date with but that doesn't mean I'm thinking of dating you, I just wanted to go with someone and since you're the new neighbour I thought it would be okay."

Iwaizumi was clueless, watching him ramble with the foreign language that tickled his ears. Oikawa looked so flustered, contrast to his confidence the other day. The sight almost made him laugh. He rolled his eyes, taking Oikawa's hand and smirking when he stopped talking. "Let's go."

* * *

Iwaizumi was greeted by the warmth of the lanterns and other decorative lights that hung around the place. Food stalls were all around, tables laid out in the middle while bottles and cans of alcohol were placed on top along with men and women drinking and laughing. There were also kids that ran around with toys in their hands. He also noticed that only a few people were wearing the traditional attire, most were wrapped in warm clothes. All kinds of sounds were heard, from the children playing to the vendor's shouting. The syllables and pronunciations were all familiar to him, back in the Philippines, the vowels were spoken in the same way too. But the fact that he couldn't recognize anything unnerved him. He glances over to Oikawa who was laughing with the noodle vendor, noticing how he had fit so well in a place full of people. It was honestly kind of enviable.

Three hours had gone by so quickly; they explored each stall and even ate a lot of food with Oikawa ordering for him. Iwaizumi would have been lying if he said he didn't enjoy himself, but as they both finally decide to rest for a while on one of the benches, he starts to feel disappointment. He couldn't answer nor read anything, he knew the festival was supposed to be welcoming but even the lights and sounds muffled his senses.

 _It was then Iwaizumi realized, that he did not belong here._

He looks down on the ground, sighing.

"Asa."

His head turns to Oikawa who was looking up the sky that had turned into a light blue. "Hmm?"

"Asa." Oikawa repeats, a serene expression on his face, the rising sun highlighting his features.

"Asa.." Iwaizumi says slowly. It was a word he had recognized, it meant hope in Filipino. How Oikawa knew of this, he did not know but as the streets get covered in sunlight and the warmth slowly creeps up to him, he realizes that maybe he just needs to wait.

* * *

Title explanation! Since asa is morning in Japanese and it means hope in Filipino I kind of wanted it be like 'There will always be another morning.' So yeah. Also, Kuya means older brother but can be used to refer to guys older than you. Just thought I would use it to include the kind of idk vibe? idek.

Kaito is just a random family member, he's not really important in this story.

:D

:D


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